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Angel and the Badman
Angel and the Badman is a 1947 black and white Western film, made by Republic Productions and starring John Wayne and Gail Russell. The story is about the domestification of a gunman. Plot Synopsis Quirt Evans' horse collapses from exhaustion as he passes a Quaker homestead. When the Quaker family tries to help him, he tells them it is vital he gets into town to send a telegraph, so the man and his daughter offer to take him. In town the telegraph office is closing and the telegraph operator is leaving, but at the mention of the name "Quirt Evans" he opens up again and sends a telegram confirming a land claim by Evans. Evans is wounded so the family take him back to their place where the bullet is removed by a doctor. Penny the daughter who has led a sheltered life has naturally fallen for Evans who decides he likes the family and wants to stay with them. Then three men turn up, Laredo Stevens and two gunmen. With an empty gun, Evans bluffs them and signs the land over to Stevens for $20,000. $5,000 is to be paid now and the rest to be collected, though Stevens makes the collection sound like a challenge. It turns out that Stevens was responsible for the death of Evans' father. They leave and Evans turns the money over to the family who saved him. Some time later the local Marshal turns up. There has been a stagecoach robbery and he is checking on Evans whose reputation he knows. Then and a number of times later, Marshal McClintock warns Evans that he has a rope waiting for him if he does wrong or if he kills Stevens. Evans helps the family reconcile with a surly neighbor and later joins them at a Quaker picnic. However, he leaves at word from his friend Randy, and with another man rustles Stevens' cattle for the money Stevens owes him which he is not going to collect without a gunfight. Evans decides ranch life isn't for him and heads off to town with Randy. Later, in the company of two saloon girls, Evans decides he prefers ranch life to his life as a gunfighter and heads back again, where he and Penny confess their love for each other. All goes well until Evans goes to pick blackberries with Penny and they are ambushed by Stevens and his men in payment for the cattle he knows Evans stole. They escape by plunging over a cliff, but Penny is injured. Stevens is convinced that Evans has died in the fall. Evans takes Penny back to the ranch and is told by the doctor that she may not live. Evans gets his gun and heads into town to find Stevens who is celebrating with his men. Evans issues a challenge and waits in the street for Stevens who doesn't fancy a gunfight with Evans. A wagon arrives and Evans sees that Penny has made a seemingly miraculous recovery from her injuries. Evans decides to head home and forget Stevens, only to have him and another man leave the saloon, ready with their guns. Evans (who has given his gun to Penny) turns to face them unarmed only to see them shot down by the Marshal who has been keeping his eye on them. Evans leaves his gun behind as he rides off back to the ranch to marry Penny and become a farmer. The film was a John Wayne Production and was written and directed by James Edward Grant. It was filmed in the scenic Monument Valley in Arizona and is available on DVD. Stick Figure Theater, a feature on Liquid Television, made a stick figure version of the bar scene from the movie. Cast * John Wayne - Quirt Evans * Gail Russell - Penelope Worth * Harry Carey - McClintock * Bruce Cabot - Laredo Stevens * Irene Rich - Mrs. Worth * Lee Dixon - Randy McCall * Stephen Grant - Johnny Worth * Tom Powers - Dr. Mangram * Paul Hurst - Frederick Carson * Olin Howland - Bradley (billed as Olin Howlin) * John Halloran - Thomas Worth * Joan Barton - Lila Neal * Craig Woods - Ward Withers * Marshall Reed - Nelson * Louis Faust - Hondo Jeffries Trivia *Elements of this film were borrowed without credit for the 1985 Harrison Ford film Witness. *The film is in the public domain and is downloadable from the Internet Archive. See also * John Wayne filmography (1941-1960) External links * * Category:1947 films Category:Western films Category:Public domain films Category:Black and white films Category:Republic Pictures films Category:American films Category:English-language films Category:Films directed by James Edward Grant de:Der schwarze Reiter (1947) it:L'ultima conquista